Sam Bourne - The righteous men

They were still just the width of a single car apart. He could see a bulge around the man's hip, what Will assumed to be a holster.

He looked ahead: the light was still green. But for how much longer? Soon it would be red: the traffic would slow down and he would be able to cross to the other side, but so would the man with the gun. He would be within pointblank range. But there was no gap. The cars were moving too fast.

Will had only one option. Instead of crossing the road, he sprinted to his left, as if trying to catch up with the traffic.

He ran faster, never taking his eye off the lights. He would act the second he saw a glimmer of red. Come on, come on. He looked around. The man was still just one lane away, but hardly moved from his previous position. Now was the moment.

As green turned to red, the traffic slowed, the cars bunching up behind each other: Will had only to dart between them, keeping himself low. Three, four, five lanes and he was nearly there.

Once across, he had to burst through a family waiting at the crossing; he knocked the balloon out of a child's hand.

Will looked back to see it soar — and to realize Laser Eyes was now just a sprint away from him.

At last, Atlantic Avenue subway station. Will hurtled down the stairs, cursing the wide woman blocking his way. Down and down, vaulting over the turnstile, hoping his ears would not fail him. Years of travelling on the Underground in London had given him a sixth sense for the mix of wind, light and humming sounds that indicated a train was coming. Will was sure he could hear it on the opposite platform. He would have to get up the stairs and across the bridge in just a few seconds. He could hear the thudding of footsteps; the stalker was just behind him.

Only moments separated them, but as Will crossed the bridge he could see the train that had just pulled in. An instant later, he was sliding down the stairs, shoving people out of the way. There was the beep-beep-beep and hiss of air that announced the train was about to move off. Just one more second…

Will dived from the bottom stair and across the platform in what felt like a single leap. The door had almost closed behind him when it stopped — held back by four fingers of a hand. Through the glass, Will could see his face: the eyes almost translucent, fixed in a stare that turned Will's guts to ice. The door was inching back.

'What you doing? You just gonna have to wait for the next train like everyone else!' It was a woman passenger, no younger than seventy, using her walking stick to whack the knuckles protruding through the door. As the train began to move off, she rapped harder — until one by one, they disappeared.

The man with the glass eyes was left on the platform, getting smaller and smaller.

'Thank you with all my heart,' said Will, gasping for air as he fell into the nearest seat.

'People need to have more respect,' she said.

'Yes, that's right,' Will wheezed. 'Respect. I couldn't agree more.'

As the air came back into his lungs, and the oxygen returned to his brain, he could see only one image. When he closed his eyes, it was there, imprinted under his eyelids. His father, aged twenty-one — a comrade in the army of Jesus. And not just the army, but the vanguard. A handpicked elite who believed they knew the secrets of the true faith.

What were they exactly? Christians, certainly. But with a strange edge of arrogance. It was they, not the Jews, who were the chosen people. They, not the Jews, who could regard Judaism itself as their birthright. They, not the Jews, who would quote the Old Testament and all its prophecies, they who would see the promises made to Abraham as promises made to them.

Will looked out the window. DeKalb Avenue station. He got out and jumped on another train. Keep Laser Eyes and his friends guessing.

TO had seen the significance straight away. According to this strict brand of replacement theology, if Judaism was theirs, that meant all of it. The story of Abraham's bargain with Sodom would be part of their inheritance — and so would the fruit of that story, the mystical Jewish belief that the world was maintained by thirty-six righteous men. For some reason, they had taken that belief as their own — and now, it seemed, they had added a new twist. They were determined to kill these good men one by one. But if it was this bizarre Christian sect who were behind the killings, why on earth had the Hassidim kidnapped Beth?

It was too much. Will needed to think, calmly. He looked at his watch. 3.45pm. So little time. He called TO's number, praying she had somehow got away.

'Will! You're alive!'

'Are you OK? Where are you?'

'I'm in the hospital. With Tom. He was shot.'

'Oh my God.'

'I was on the roof. I heard a shot, I ran downstairs and he was lying there, bleeding. Oh, Will-'

'Is he alive?'

'They're operating on him now. My God, who did this, Will? Why would anyone do this?'

'I don't know, but I'm going to find them, I promise. I'm going to find the people behind this whole fucking mess. And I know I'm close.'

Monday, 3.47pm, Manhattan

TO, I know they're here. In New York City'

'How can you be so certain? They're killing righteous men all over the world — why would they be here?'

For one thing, everything they know, they've got from the Hassidim. They've got all they can from hacking into their computers. Now they need to be here in person; to complete the process. That's why they killed Yosef Yitzhok. They're desperate to find number thirty-six. And they're convinced the Hassidim know who he is. And they're right. Besides, I reckon they want to be here.' "What do you mean?'

'Don't you see? Tonight is the climax. It's the moment it all comes together. They'll want to be in the place where all this prophecy becomes real. Because this is where it all ends, TO. The Sodom of the twenty-first century. New York City!

It's here the world finally loses its bargain with God. Just thirty-six righteous men; so long as they're alive, the world goes on. Without them, it's all over. These people will want to be here to see it happen. The end of the world.'

'Will, you're scaring me.'

'And there's one other thing.' He stopped himself. 'Look, there's no time. I've got to go.' He hung up and dialled a number at The New York Times.

'Amy Woodstein.'

'Amy, it's Will. I need you to do something for me.'

'Will!' She was whispering. 'I shouldn't even be talking to you. Are you getting some help?'

'Right now I need your help, Amy. There's a flyer on my desk, for a convention of the Church of the Reborn Jesus.

Could you just read it out to me?'

Amy sighed in audible relief. 'Hold on.' Seconds later she was back. 'OK: The Church of the Reborn Jesus, valuing families through family values. Spiritual Gathering, Javits Convention Center, on West 34th Street… oh, hold on, its today.'

'Yes!' He sounded as if he was punching the air.

'Oh, Will, I'm so glad you're finding some comfort in your faith. I know many people facing challenges-'

'Amy, love to chat, got to go.'

Thirty minutes later, he was there. The Javits Convention Center. He could see a delegates' counter, staffed by bright eyed volunteers. That would not work. Ah, a press desk.

'Excuse me, I'm from the Guardian, a London newspaper, and I fear I'm not yet on your list. Is there any way you might be able to accommodate me?'

'Sir, I'm afraid accreditation has to be done through our Richmond office. Did you pre-accredit?' Pre-accredit. Just when Will thought he had heard every coinage corporate America could possibly come up with.

'No, I'm sorry, I just couldn't get through on the phone.

But my editors would be so disappointed if I couldn't cover this wonderful celebration of family values. We have nothing like this in Britain, you see. And I know there is a real hunger back home for this kind of spiritual example. Is there any way you could let me in, just for half an hour or so, so that I could at least tell my bosses I saw it with my own eyes?'